The Sweetest Mother's Day Gift!

Dear Mom, You’re My Biggest Fan and it Means So Much

4 Minute Read

By Elizabeth Spencer

mom and grown daughter — Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.com

Dear Mom,

You’ve been my #1 fan my whole life.

You were my fan even before I was born, even while I was making you so sick. I brought you misery for nine solid months but you’ve never held it against me, and have only made me feel like I was somehow worth all that agony.

You founded and presided over my fan club. You preside over it still.

You are the fan who always believes in me even when I doubt myself.

You are the fan who always thinks the best of me, even when I think the worst of myself.

You are the fan who’s always sure I can do something even when I’m sure I can’t.

You are the fan who sees in my grown-up self the same kind of hope and possibility you saw when I was a newborn in your arms.

You are the fan who always wants to hear from me when anything—good, bad, or otherwise—happens.

You are the fan who sees what I love and wants it for me.

You are the fan who says, “I never get to see you!” even though you saw me less than a week ago.

You are the fan who always has a collection going for me: magazine articles you think I’d like to read, coupons you won’t use but think I might, the last little bit of a jar of honey you threw in after I casually mentioned I was running low on it.

You are the fan I know I can share good but possibly braggy-sounding news with . . . the fan who never thinks I’m actually bragging but only telling you something you want to know about, down to the last detail.

You are the fan who celebrates the most minor of accomplishments or victories with me.

You are the fan who puts me on speaker when I call “so your father can hear, too” as if I’m about to deliver a Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech instead of a recitation of our family’s weekly schedule.

You are the fan who tells me I’m an amazing mom even when I feel like the worst mom in the world.

You are the fan who “loves” and comments on all my online posts . . . and then messages me to ask for the whole backstory on them.

You are the fan who always thinks I’m the best person for the job . . . but who also tells me I don’t always have to be the person to do the job.

You are the fan who brags about me to your friends when you’re all swapping “let me tell you about my adult child” stories.

You are the fan who looks out for me and still gets riled up when you think someone is messing with your baby.

You are the fan who has my back.

You are the fan who is on my side and in my corner.

You are the fan who will tell anyone who will listen, “That’s my daughter.”

You are my fan whether I’m winning or losing. Your loyalty to me isn’t based on what I do—it’s based on who I am to you.

If you had a motto as my #1 fan, it would be this message you sent me the other day: “Fully behind you and cheering you on.”

You’ll say, of course, that this is what moms do, but the truth is not all moms do this. There are moms reading this who wish they’d had a fan like you in their own mothers. There are moms reading this who are trying to be a fan like you to their own children.

I know I’ll never be able to thank you enough for being my biggest fan. But I’ll start here: I’ll do what you did. I’ll do what you’re still doing. I’ll be your grandchildren’s biggest fan for life. I’ll cheer for them. I’ll believe in them. I’ll think the best of them. I’ll see what’s possible for them.

And I’ll remain, always and with love, one of your biggest fans.

You may also like:

To My Mom: I Get It Now

Dear Mom, I’ve Never Wondered About Your Love

Dear Mom, I Didn’t Know How Much I Was a Piece of Your Heart Until My Babies Took a Piece of Mine

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

#1 fan biggest fan dear mom I love my mom mom Mother Motherhood thank you mom

Elizabeth Spencer

Elizabeth Spencer is mom to two daughters (one teen and one young adult) who regularly dispense love, affection, and brutally honest fashion advice. She writes about faith, food, and family (with some occasional funny thrown in) at Guilty Chocoholic Mama and avoids working on her 100-year-old farmhouse by spending time on Facebook and Twitter.

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

In: Grown Children, Motherhood, Teen

Ten boy eating breakfast at kitchen counter

T-minus 44 days until a new beginning- Math has never been my strong suit or my favorite subject, but it will be about 19 years spent rising and trying to shine in our house. Nineteen years of prepping one, two, or all three of our sons to get up and ready for school. Nineteen years of making breakfast. Nineteen years of making lunches. For those of you in the thick of it right now, you know exactly what I mean. I think my husband Steve and I have it down to a science now. If we had to do it...

Keep Reading

I’m Learning To Let Go of What Was To Embrace What Is

In: Faith, Grown Children, Motherhood

Family of four standing out side in fall

I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night a lot lately. Heart pounding. Mind racing. Ever been there? The house is still, but my thoughts are loud. One night, I finally whispered in the dark, “Lord, what’s this really about?” In His grace, He showed me: I’ve been bracing for a season that’s quickly approaching. One I haven’t exactly welcomed with open arms. They call it the empty nest. I’m a mom of three boys. For over two decades, my life has revolved around carpools, ball games, grocery runs, and Mount-Everest-sized laundry piles. It’s been loud and messy...

Keep Reading

Dear New College Parents: It Gets Easier

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Dorm supplies are center stage at Target, ready for college students and their parents to find with ease as they try to make a dorm room feel like a haven. For the first time in eight years, I do not have a child returning to a “home away from home” on a college campus. In many ways, I find peace with this knowledge; I mean, it is stressful to get a college student and all of their campus possessions moved into a new place during the hottest part of the summer. But in some ways, I find myself a bit...

Keep Reading

I Want His College Experience to Be His Own

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

College boy looking at large building on campus

Back in the day, when I applied for college, my options were limited. By geography. By my GPA. By my ACT score. I didn’t have the accolades that my college-bound son does to make the decision process as difficult as his was. A recruited athlete. A national merit scholar. A rock-solid ACT score. Not bound by us to any geographic region. All the things. I share this not to brag, but rather to paint the picture of the incredible options he had to choose from. And let me say, the decision-making was brutal. It started with ruling out most of...

Keep Reading

I’m Watching Him Become the Man I Prayed He’d Be

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Mom with arm around grown son, view from back

It’s been a hard day. One of those days where everything feels loud. We are renovating our house—it’s time. Actually, it’s way past time. The amount of time that makes you wonder how you lived like this for so long. Twenty years ago, I bought a refrigerator I found on Craigslist for $200. The icemaker didn’t work. The water dispenser was purely decorative. But I babied that thing through two decades of family dinners and midnight snacks. Same with the stove. When my son was three, he climbed upon the stove to retrieve a ball I had confiscated earlier that...

Keep Reading

This Bridge to Empty Nesting is So Bittersweet

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Long walking bridge leading toward ocean

Motherhood. A tremendous, all-encompassing role. One that takes a great deal of energy, time, heart, and soul to do it justice. When you’re raising a child, you become so immersed in their world: babyhood and the exciting firsts; toddlerhood and tantrums; preschool and playdates. Elementary and middle school years are packed with homework, after-school activities, and carpooling. And finally, high school, with its greater autonomy and nerve-wracking firsts, such as driving and staying out late. The years pass simultaneously quickly and slowly. Next thing you know, you’re helping your young adult prepare to fly from the nest. We teach our...

Keep Reading

I’m Falling Into the Goodbye Hole

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

Mother and grown son standing outside smiling for photo

When I first became a mother, I never wanted to leave our firstborn, ever. True story: the first time my husband and I went for a dinner out, we ate as fast as we could, only talked about the baby, and wondered why we had left him with a sitter. We rushed back in 45 minutes, much to the sitter’s surprise. She looked stunned and thought to herself, “These people have to get a life!” That was the first goodbye, and now that our boys are in their 20s, the number of goodbyes keeps piling up. Saying goodbye is one...

Keep Reading

To My Grown Kids, These Are My Promises to You

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

If I could have known what was to come when you were little, I would have written this then. But here we are. You are 22,19, and 16. They say the terrible twos are a hard age? Ha! That’s nothing compared with the adults (or near adult) who are looking at me now! Here’s what I would have said then, and what I still vow to you now, more than ever: First, what I can’t promise. I can’t promise it will be easy or that I won’t make mistakes. It won’t, and I will. I can’t promise you everything you...

Keep Reading

I Waited My Whole Childhood for a Dad

In: Grown Children, Living

Like so many kids are, I was raised by a single mom—the kind of woman who always put her kids first and did her absolute best to provide everything she possibly could for us. She worked 12-hour days to keep a roof over our heads and spent her last pennies ensuring our birthdays and Christmas were times to remember. Sometimes she chose not to eat so she knew we would have enough food for several days in a row. She was a superwoman! But she was lonely, and as I grew up, I noticed it more and more. Then one...

Keep Reading

Dear Senior Mamas, That Smile Is Worth It All

In: Grown Children, Motherhood

“One, two, three! Say, ‘Cheese!’” About two months ago, senioritis was so ripe in our home you could smell it. The pressure was thick; everything felt like a countdown. One more AP test, one more meeting, one more honors ceremony, and then he’s finally done. In all of that brilliance, this mom realized she hadn’t scheduled senior pictures for her precious firstborn. Thankfully, he entertained me amidst his exhaustion. During the session, my son was so tired, and I was so desperate to get THAT smile. You mamas know the one. The one they gave you when they first rode...

Keep Reading

I Suck at Being a Friend Right Now

Friendship

I Suck at Being a Friend Right Now

Home is Where I Shine

Marriage

Dear Mom, You’re My Biggest Fan and it Means So Much

You are the fan who always believes in me even when I doubt myself.

You are the fan who tells me I’m an amazing mom even when I feel like the worst mom in the world.

You are my fan whether I’m winning or losing. Your loyalty to me isn’t based on what I do—it’s based on who I am to you.

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Soon There Will Be No More Breakfasts To Make

I’m Learning To Let Go of What Was To Embrace What Is

Dear New College Parents: It Gets Easier

I Want His College Experience to Be His Own

I’m Watching Him Become the Man I Prayed He’d Be

This Bridge to Empty Nesting is So Bittersweet

I’m Falling Into the Goodbye Hole

To My Grown Kids, These Are My Promises to You

I Waited My Whole Childhood for a Dad

Dear Senior Mamas, That Smile Is Worth It All

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like